Creatures, Races and Beasts
Rock Golems Rock Golems are giant hulking figures of solid stone. They are usually slow and peaceful and not particularly intelligent, though they are good observers and do try to learn. When roused up they can be very destructive indeed. They prefer to keep to themselves and live in areas far from the settlements of other races which they often find noisey and somewhat resent the range of emotions the feel other races have. They do not reproduce as such, but simply wake from the ground if an untethered spirit settles. They start life the size a normal human and continue growing, until eventually they meet their end, if their head is destroyed. Succubus ]] The story of a succubus is a story of sadness. They are a race of beautiful demonic women who reproduce by seducuing males of other races, usually humans. They have very low chance of conception, but live for hundreds of years. Despite their demonic appearence, and their supernatural abilities, they are not inherently evil, but view humans as a destructive force who are demolishing Orbis for their own gains, whereas they live in harmony with nature, generally keeping to themselves. They do, however, enjoy toying with humans and making them do their bidding. In some cases cults have sprung up where males are devoted to certain succubuses. Young succubuses are actually very friendly to humans and often become attached to them, but usually due to fundamental differences and the behaviour of humans, they are left feeling hurt and betrayed. Sometimes its simply that they outlive their human partners. This hurt and resentment builds over time, until they become bitter and begrudge the human race. It is at this point that many succubuses become dangerous to humans. As they age and their souls darken, their physical appearance becomes more and more demonic. They are not physically tethered to Orbis and so have the ability to turn ethereal, appear in dreams and subtly influence events. They have more contact with cultures that have a spiritual religion and often appear when people contact the spirit world, particularly the Zua and Zanni, though they maintain a level of respect for these two nations due to their relative ecological harmony. Dragons Dragons are some of the most ferocious creatures that inhabit Orbis. They cannot be tamed, they cannot be reasoned with. Some people believe they possess wisdom and insight, but this is not the case, they are simply giant fire breathing monsters. There are different species of dragon, which have adapted to different environments, but the typical type (and the most numerous) live deep into the Southern Desert, beyond the land of Man. Beastmen Beastmen are aggressive half-men half-animals who travel in packs. They thrive on the edges of civilisation, raiding villages and travellers and pose a constant threat to those who live nearby. They live in nomadic packs which are lead by the biggest beastman in the pack. They are capable of constructing basic tools and weapons, but prefer those looted from humans. Manticore Manticores are winged lions with the tail of a scorpion which can paralyze or in some cases kill.